Without a Hitch
by spiffykay
Summary: SS future fic. Someone's getting married in Newport Beach forcing Seth and Summer to confront their own fears on marriage.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to "The OC"**

**A/N: I seriously don't know where I come up with this stuff. And I know I have a small couple-parter story going right now but this just popped into my head so I'm going with. It's again only a three-parter.**

**Everything from the show stands except Kirsten giving birth to Sophie or anything in the very last montage that happened during the series finale.**

**Oh and P.S. – I suck at reviewing/writing back to reviews right now. I'm currently in the midst of finalizing all my plans to travel the world (I leave in 13 days to travel to the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Brazil, South Africa, Mauritius, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, Japan, Hawaii, Costa Rica, and then through the Panama Canal to arrive finally in Florida in May) so really, on all accounts, I shouldn't even be writing SS stories. Too bad I'm awesome at procrastination.**

**Read, enjoy!, and (if possible even though I kind of don't deserve it) review!!!**

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"Dude," he paused for added effect, "you're getting hitched!"

The blond shook his head in response, smiling into his drink. "Yup, I think I am."

"That's crazy!" The dark curly haired man put his own bottle of beer onto the bar's counter. "Are we that old?"

"Old enough that it's not stupid, young enough that it's not too late," the blond bobbed his head.

"Wow," the dark haired man responded, "you know, I always thought I was gonna get married first."

The blond snorted. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah…"

"Man," the blond slapped the brunette's back lightly, "you could get married if you wanted to."

This time it was the brunette's turn to snort. "Huh. You know, that didn't go over so well last time. Or, come to think of it, the time before that."

"It's been _years_, Seth."

"And yet, we always seem to end up right back in the same place we started, don't we, Ryan?" Seth brought the bottle back up to his lips, letting the cool liquid run down the back of his throat.

Ryan sighed, obviously not wanting to upset his brother further. "I'm getting married."

Seth stole a glance to his left, smiling sheepishly. "You're getting married, man. You're getting married…"

The two took their bottles, clunk them together, and then brought them back up to their thirsty lips.

Seth dropped the bottle back to the bar, turning away from his brother. "Is it sad that this is your bachelor party and we're the only two people in attendance?"

Ryan mimicked Seth's actions. "We need to get more friends."

Seth nodded in response holding his bottle in his hands as Ryan did the same, both staring blankly in front of them.

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"Leilah!" Seth barged into the house, shouting in a slur. "Leilah, baby, come here!"

"Seth," Summer switched on the lights in the living room, noticing Seth's disheveled appearance, "What the hell are you doing?"

Seth walked over to her, albeit staggered, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "I'm looking for Leilah." Seth kept his hold on Summer, kissing her hair lightly.

"I kind of gathered that…" Summer mumbled into Seth's shoulders that were now starting to suffocate her. "It's nearly three in the morning. She's sleeping."

Just then, a small dark haired girl in her pony pajamas walked down the stairs, into the light rubbing her eyes. "Daddy…?"

Summer pulled out of Seth's abnormally strong hold, glancing at her daughter. "Leilah, honey, just go back to sleep. You have a big day tomorrow." Summer tried to walk her daughter back to her room, indicating she needed her sleep before being Uncle Ryan's all-too important flower girl the next day.

"Leilah!" Seth shouted again, pushing Summer out of the way and kneeling down to his little girl's height. "I love you so much, little girl. And you know what?"

"What?" the five-year old smiled at her father.

"We're gonna be a real family some day. You, me, and your mom. And you'll get to be a flower girl again. And you'll have a little brother or sister soon -"

"Excuse me?" Summer crossed her arms under her chest in defiance and shock.

Seth ignored Summer, continuing to Leilah, "- And we're gonna move out of this hellhole of a town and into a nice big house on the ocean far away from here. And I'll buy you a boat. A really, really big boat and -"

Summer grabbed Seth's arm roughly, pulling his body up into vertical position again. "Again," Summer reiterated, "what the hell are you doing?"

"Summer, I love you," Seth's eyes glazed over as he took Summer's face in his hands, bringing his lips to crash down upon hers.

Summer fell into the kiss – she never was one to deny Seth and his talented lips – and was relishing in how it felt to be like this with him until she realized her only daughter was standing there next to them. She pulled away as Seth continued reaching for her. Summer tried to knock his wandering hands away from her body as she walked her daughter back to her room, but with his hands reaching for her waist and pulling her out of reach with her daughter, she elbowed him in the gut to stop his wandering hands. He immediately cried out in pain, doubling over and falling to the ground, as her daughter looked on in horror.

"Daddy!" Leilah yelled, rushing to her father's side.

"Leilah, come on, you need to go to bed," Summer reached down grabbing her young daughter's body.

"No!" Leilah shouted from on top of Summer's shoulders as Summer walked her back up the stairs into her room, pounding her tiny fists onto her mother's back. "You hurt Daddy! Let me go!"

Summer let her back down onto her bed, gripping her shoulders, making eye contact with her. "Daddy's gonna be fine. You, on the other hand, need to get some sleep before tomorrow."

Leilah's eyes started to water and Summer knew what was coming next. Suddenly the young girl burst into hysterical sobs, hitting Summer's grip away as groans from the living room still lingered in the late night – or was it considered early morning? – darkness. Summer finally sighed, letting go of her daughter as Leilah jumped off of her twin-sized bed, racing downstairs for her father. Summer followed her out and down, seeing her curl next to Seth on the ground, watching as they both stared at each other while Seth's hand pushed away the stray pieces of hair that fell in her face. Both the whimpering of cries and groans of pain subsided in seconds as the two fell into a deep sleep right there on the carpet.

Summer rolled her eyes, walking back to her bedroom, muttering to herself, "Un-fucking-believable," as she climbed underneath the sheets.

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Seth woke to the smell of coffee and a sore back. He shifted in his place, reaching for a blanket but discovered his hands coming in contact with a handful of carpet instead.

"Looking for something, ass?" Summer sneered above him, gripping a mug of coffee.

Seth squinted his eyes upward, glancing at Summer's angry face. "Hi."

"Here," Summer thrust the mug downward into Seth's hands. He sat up on the floor, taking in his surroundings as a massive headache came to him. His empty hand reached up to his head as Summer thrust another hand down. "And here."

Seth looked at her questioningly, reaching his hand up as Summer let the pills fall into empty palm. "Thanks."

She ignored his comment, walking back towards the kitchen to finish making her breakfast. Seth stared at her as she ignored him, realizing that he couldn't remember anything past being at the bar with Ryan the night before. He attempted to stand up, groaning in the process and simply falling backward onto the couch, dripping coffee onto his jeans.

"Is there a reason I slept on the carpet last night?" Seth asked cautiously.

Summer looked over at him, her face clearly etched in annoyance. "Is there a reason you decided to come home drunk at three am, wake up Leilah, and further her hatred for me?"

Seth moaned to himself, closing his eyes. Obviously, Summer was pissed. Great. Just what he needed. "Shit."

"I mean," Summer spoke angrily from the kitchen, "seriously, Seth, she already adores you to absolutely no end. And I'm just her mother. Her mean, over-protective, no-fun mother. The one who sets all the rules and abides by them. Can't you for once try and help me out here?"

"Summer," Seth stood, ignoring the throbbing in his head, "I don't remember a single thing about coming back here last night. So for whatever it is you've decided to be pissed at me for, I apologize. Very sincerely. Overly sincerely. I'm _sorry_."

"You always do that, Seth!" Summer raised her voice, startling Seth from his walk towards the bedroom. "You and Ryan go out and get drunk and then I have to pick up the mess you make when you finally decide to return home!"

"_Always_?" Seth looked at her. "I think that's an exaggeration."

"Seth!" Summer yelled. "What the hell has happened to you?"

Seth opened his mouth to reply but couldn't find the right words. Instead he shut his mouth and walked lifelessly down into the bedroom, closing the door in his wake.

He would attempt to deal with this after the wedding.

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Summer stood alone in a hallway of the reception center, gripping tightly onto her champagne glass. She could see through the glass doors her daughter dancing with her father, beaming widely as her father reciprocated the same facial expressions. She saw his eyes flutter around the room a few times – probably looking for her – but he continued showing no signs of halting the happiness that was apparent on his daughter's face.

Summer gulped the champagne down quickly, sighing to herself. What the hell had been up his ass lately? Okay, so she had overreacted a bit earlier that morning when Seth had woken up – he didn't go out and get drunk with Ryan _a lot_ – only a dozen or so times since Leilah had been born over five years ago – but still, it was so uncharacteristic of him to not pay much attention to her. She hadn't done anything wrong by him, she concluded, and yet he still acted as if he was only in a relationship with her merely because of Leilah.

And she loved that Seth was so close to Leilah – really she did – but it was obvious that Leilah and he had a bond that Summer couldn't touch. It had always been that way she guessed, but recently with all of Leilah's temper-tantrums, it had become more apparent. Summer was always on the receiving end while Leilah would go cry to Seth about how 'mommy won't let me do this' or 'mommy won't let me do that.' Yeah, Summer was a little over-protective of her, but what else was she supposed to do? She and Seth were raising a child in Newport Beach, California. And she definitely didn't want her to be raised in a spoiled manner, much like she herself had. She wanted to raise her daughter right, much like Kirsten Cohen had raised Seth. But when Seth would always bring her out to eat or get candy or buy her new toys, Leilah would cling to Seth and thus began the troubles.

Summer would yell at Seth for doing this – he had been for the past two years – but Seth would simply say he was allowed to spoil their only child if he had the money to do so. Then he'd fire back with a 'you-didn't-seem-to-care-when-I-spoiled-you-when-we-were-in-high-school' retort. This was true; Summer never thought of things like that back in high school, but everything was different now. She was a mother and she didn't want her child to turn out like all the rest of Newport babies were destined to. Seth would sometimes tell her she was crazy – that Leilah would never turn out like that as long as they stayed completely involved in her life – but Summer was never so sure.

Summer had said no to Seth's proposal back when she found out she was pregnant with Leilah. And it wasn't necessarily because she didn't want to marry Seth; it was just that she didn't want to be pressured into doing so because she was pregnant. This had already happened once and she knew how much they both didn't want that then so she decided it would be best if they waited until after Leilah arrived to discuss marriage. Seth lashed out on her then too, stating that she had now turned down his proposal twice and he wasn't willing to propose to the same person three times. Summer was upset at his rant, but let him cool down, figuring everything would work themselves out after the baby came.

Leilah Rose Cohen was now five years old.

Seth and Summer hadn't talked about marriage since that day nearly six years ago.

"Hey," Taylor crept into the hallway towards Summer. "How are you doing?"

"How am I doing?" Summer laughed, leaning against the wall. "I feel like that's a more fitting question for me to be asking you," Summer motioned towards Taylor's long white wedding gown.

Taylor laughed along with her best friend, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I know how much you hate weddings, that's all."

"I don't hate weddings," Summer pushed off from the wall. Taylor eyed her as if to say, 'oh, really' as Summer continued. "I'm just getting kind of sick of watching everyone else from our graduating class invite us to their weddings while I'm still waiting for a simple hint of a proposal from Seth."

"Summer…" Taylor soothed, letting her diamond-clad hand run down Summer's arm in a comforting manner. "You guys have been together longer than mostly everyone who's invited you to a wedding – including myself. You'll get there. Seth's just… _Seth_."

"Right," Summer groaned. "Like that makes me feel better."

"Come on," Taylor reached for Summer's hand, "I gotta get back out there and I want my maid-of-honor with me."

Summer stayed glued to her spot, shaking her head. "Not right now, Taylor. I'll be out in a few minutes though. I promise."

"Swear?" Taylor dropped Summer's hand.

"On my forever unmarried soul."

Taylor rolled her eyes, reaching the glass doors, pushing them open. "Sure, Summer."

Taylor disappeared and Summer fell to the ground, bringing her knees up to her chest as she hid her face, crying into them. Some time must have past because before she knew it, she was being awoken by a stranger who was prodding at her arm.

"Hey, you there," the man chuckled slightly at the sight of Summer's sleepy eyes. "Hate weddings too?"

"You could say that," Summer muttered as the man – who looked around Summer's age, possibly a few years older with dark, short hair – sat down next to her, leaning against the same wall.

"Yeah, me too." The man leaned his head back against the cold tiled wall, sighing, then turned towards Summer, releasing a hand to introduce himself. "Teagan Tanner. Thirty-years old, divorcee, went to college with the groom. Nice to meet you."

Summer laughed, turning towards him, shaking her hand with his. "Summer Roberts. Twenty-eight years old, never married, mother of a five-year old daughter, maid-of-honor." Summer felt a twinge of guilt at first for not mentioning Seth – or attempting to describe the father/boyfriend figure very involved in her and her daughter's lives – but it quickly dispersed as Teagan continued.

"So you're a mother, huh? Something that's tough to be in this town."

"Tell me about it," Summer murmured, stretching her legs out in front of her. "It's a full-time job in itself."

"Yeah, I bet it is," Teagan agreed. "What's her name?"

"Leilah."

"Leilah." Teagan repeated. "Pretty name. And if she looks anything like her mom, she's probably very beautiful as well."

Summer couldn't help but blush. She hadn't received many compliments from guys in recent times, much less any compliments from Seth. It seemed as though every conversation she and Seth had had recently included an argument. It was tiring and wearing down on Summer and it was nice to meet someone like Teagan. Nothing would ever happen with him – she was much too in love with Seth, regardless of their arguing – but it was nice to know she still attracted the attention of the opposite sex.

"Thanks, Teagan," Summer smiled, beginning to stand up. "Well, I should probably get back inside and fulfill my maid-of-honor duties."

Teagan stood up as well, grabbing a hold on Summer's arm helping her up. "Absolutely, I wouldn't want -"

Teagan stopped mid-sentence to the opening of the glass doors, glancing to see who had just entered. Summer did the same.

Seth stood there, holding open the doors, with a raised eyebrow. Summer shook off the tension of the moment, wiping the nonexistent dirt off of her dress, speaking back to Teagan. "It was nice to meet you. And thanks again."

"Ah…," Teagan's eyes glanced between Summer and the unknown man standing at the glass doors who was still not saying anything, "no problem. I'll see you out there; I'm just gonna make a pit stop over there," he pointed towards the bathroom. "Nice to meet you, Summer."

Summer smiled, picking up her dress off of the floor with her right hand, walking towards Seth and the doors.

"Who was that?" Seth moved aside so Summer could get through.

"Teagan Tanner," she answered briskly.

"_Teagan Tanner_," Seth replied mockingly. "Nice."

Summer halted, turning towards Seth with an icy glare. "He's thirty, divorced, knows Ryan from Berkeley and happens to think I'm beautiful."

Seth's mouth dropped, unsure of what to say next.

"Yeah," Summer laughed curtly. "Of course you don't know what to say to that. To think some other guy thinks I'm beautiful? Wow. It's a shock, huh?"

Summer walked off, letting Seth trail after her. "What were you doing talking to him?" Summer limply shrugged her shoulders. Seth grabbed her by the arm, stopping her and looking her squarely in the eye. "What is going on with you?"

Summer paused for a moment before yanking her arm out of Seth's grip. "Why don't you tell me?" Before Seth could reply, Summer stormed off in search of familiar faces to converse with.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: It all belongs to Josh Schwartz.**

**A/N: As much as you all want me to write, this procrastination I have going might keep me from leaving the country in 10 days. And that's kind of bad. So, alas, I'm in a pickle. :/**

**Also, I think storylines are screwed up in my mind. So if the end of this is weird – blame my enormously stressed out brain.**

**As always, read, enjoy, and review, please.**

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"I think I'm gonna break it off with Summer," Seth sat with his father at one of the lifeless tables, watching as everyone else let loose on the dance floor.

Sandy was all smiles until he heard the statement come from his son's mouth. "You're what?"

Seth leaned on the table with his elbows in his hands. "I think we're done."

"But you guys have been together for so long. You have a daughter. Seth, this isn't something you just decide to give up on. You have to work at it," Sandy lectured his son.

"It's something you work on if you have a marriage. We're not married, dad. And I don't think she ever wants to be," Seth looked up into his father's eyes before surveying the dance floor, his eyes landing on Summer as she danced happily with the _Teagan_ character from earlier. "Look at her – she looks happy out there. I don't know when's the last time she's been that happy with me."

"Seth…" Sandy patted Seth on the back. "You should be talking to her about this. Not me. I bet if you both express how each of you feels, you'll work things out."

Seth's eyes watered as he kept his stare on his girlfriend, swaying happily to the up-tempo music as the guy apparently known as Teagan danced along side her. "I miss her."

"Then go talk to her," Sandy stressed, standing up from his seat. "Don't be a coward about this."

Seth watched as his dad walked off, leaving him alone to his thoughts. He put his head back down on the table, trying to shield images of Summer dancing with another guy from his head as he heard footsteps approach him. He looked down onto the ground and saw small feet appear. The body then kneeled down, peering up to see his face. "Daddy?" the little girl asked. "Do you have a headache?"

Seth laughed, still keeping his head firmly planted on the table. "Nope. No headache, sweetheart. Just really tired."

Leilah decidedly sat down on the ground, craning her head up to talk with her father. "Me too. I did a lot of dancing today."

"That you did," Seth smiled.

"Mommy says that I can't have any of the juice that all the grown-ups are having," Leilah stated randomly, indicating the champagne that nearly every adult at the reception had been having multiple glasses of. "Can I just have a sip, daddy?"

Seth knew he spoiled his daughter, but it was just that he loved her so much and wanted to give her everything. He also knew that Summer was never keen on it, always scolding him for giving their daughter too much. He understood her concerns but he couldn't help it. And now Leilah wasn't listening to what Summer said and was instead only listening to what he said. And if the tables were turned? Yeah, he'd probably be pretty pissed and unhappy too.

"Leilah, honey," Seth lifted his head, straightening himself out on the chair, "you can't. It's a grown-up drink; it's not good for children."

"But I want it, daddy," Leilah pouted, giving her father her best sad eyes she could muster.

As much as Seth wanted to give in, he knew this was something he couldn't cave on. Giving his daughter her first taste of alcohol at age five? Definitely not the best idea.

"No, Leilah. Your mother was right. You can't have it."

Leilah's eyes glistened with tears and all of a sudden she racked her body in loud sobs, grabbing the attention of a few of the party-goers.

"Leilah," Seth tried to scold his daughter, shaking her shoulders lightly. "Leilah, stop it. You can have some of the red punch if you want something to drink."

This seemed to only heighten Leilah's cries and Summer took notice, apologizing to Teagan and walking towards her daughter and boyfriend.

"What's going on?" Summer kneeled down once reaching the table, enclosing her arms around her daughter. Leilah latched onto her mother, crying into her chest.

"She wanted some of the champagne," Seth told her helpfully, his heart breaking as he heard Leilah's cries and knew he had caused them. "I told her no. She didn't like that answer very much."

Summer nodded, pulling Leilah away from her chest, staring into her eyes. The little girl continued sobbing, brushing her tiny hands across her face to rid her cheeks of tears.

"Daddy's being mean," Leilah told Summer. "I want to go home."

"I know you do, baby. We're all tired. It's been a long day," Summer gathered her daughter in her arms standing up. Seth stood up with them, looking Summer in the eye.

"I don't really know how to say no to her," he shrugged. "I don't really have a lot of experience doing it."

"I know, Seth," Summer nodded, switching the child from one shoulder to the other. "I'm gonna take her home."

"I'll come with you," Seth offered.

Summer shook her head. "You have your own car here."

"I'll leave it the parking lot for the night," Seth tried pleadingly. "Please?"

Summer really didn't want to deal with an angry boyfriend and a crying child so she just sighed, nodding her head. "Okay, but I have to say goodbye to some people first so can you take her?"

Seth stared at Summer blankly for a second, shaking his head. "She hates me."

Summer rolled her eyes, handing Leilah over to her father. "She doesn't hate you, Seth. She's just upset and tired."

Seth took his daughter out of Summer's arms unwillingly as Leilah's cries grew louder, protesting being in her father's arms. "Let me go! I want mommy!"

"Take her to the car," Summer told him. "I'll be right out."

Leilah tried squirming her way out of her father's arms as he walked out of the reception hall, ignoring the questioning looks from others, trying to control his daughter.

Control his daughter – ha. How could he not handle her when she was like this? How had he not learned already? Of course he hadn't learned – he'd always let Summer take care of her when she was like this. Always making her out to be the mean parent while he remained the favorite.

Seriously – how selfish was he?

No wonder Summer hated him. He'd hate himself too.

And now look where he'd gotten himself – a temper tantrum five-year old and a girlfriend going to say goodbye to some other guy, probably giving him her number in the process.

Yeah, Seth was expecting the break-up any day now. But once he was to get home, he'd beat her to it. It would be easier that way.

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"Hey," Summer smiled lightly, walking down the stairs to find Seth lying down on the couch.

"Hi," he replied, sitting up making room for her to sit down. "Is she all right?"

"She'll be fine, Seth. She's just tired."

"Right," Seth nodded his head. "I just don't know what to do when she gets like that. I mean, I know I should – I am her father after all – but when she gets mad at me I just break down. I hate disappointing her."

"You aren't disappointing her," Summer reassured him comfortingly, placing a hand on his leg. "You're teaching her the difference between right and wrong. Yes and no. I'm actually really proud of you right now."

"Really?" Seth looked over to Summer to see her smiling. She merely nodded her head in response, removing her hand from his leg.

"Well, I'm gonna head off to bed. It's been a long day," Summer yawned the last sentence, standing up from the couch.

"Wait," Seth stood up abruptly, startling Summer. "I think we should talk."

"Can it wait until tomorrow?" She asked groggily.

"It could but I'd rather discuss it now."

"Okay…" Summer smiled apprehensively at him. "What do you want to discuss?"

"Us."

Summer's mouth formed into the shape of an egg, seating herself back down onto the couch. "All right, well, if this is about Teagan I just wanted to let you know nothing happened. Nor was anything going to happen. He just introduced himself when I was out in the hallway and we got to talking. It wasn't anything really."

"But it was something," Seth stressed. "It wasn't anything but it was something. Enough for you to try and make me jealous with it."

"I was angry," Summer shrugged.

"You've been angry a lot lately. At me that is."

"Well, you've been making me angry a lot."

"I know," Seth sighed. "You haven't been very happy with me lately."

"No, I can't say that I have," Summer agreed. Maybe opening up to Seth would work out. Maybe the topic of marriage would finally come up and she could tell him how hurt she's been feeling that he hasn't made a mention of it to her yet.

"Yeah, and this is what I want to talk about," Seth gathered her hands in his. "Maybe we should take a break."

Summer sat back for a moment, taking his words in. This had not been what she was expecting. Not at all.

"Summer?" Seth probed, rubbing her hands with his thumbs. "What are you thinking?"

Summer gasped in shock, shaking her head ever so slightly. She stood up, ripping her hands away from his. "Are you fucking kidding me, Seth?"

"I thought that this is what you would want…" Seth trailed.

"What I want? You think _this_ is what I would want? I've been dating you for the past twelve years of my life! I've lived with you for the past seven! I gave birth to your child!" Summer yelled, ignoring the fact that said-child was upstairs sleeping. "How does all of that give you the idea that I would want to break up?!"

"Well, if you don't want to break up then what do you want to do?" Seth now stood, facing Summer. "Cause we can't keep living like this. You being angry with me all the time and me always trying to figure why and how to fix it."

"Do you want to marry me?" Summer blurted out, snapping Seth out of his own anger.

"Do I want to…? Of course I do!" Seth finally gathered his words together.

"Then why aren't we?" Summer quieted down, trying to stifle the cries threatening to release themselves.

"Why aren't we married?" Summer nodded at Seth's question and he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure I guess. Things just got crazy after Leilah was born and after your refusal with my first two proposals -"

Summer interrupted him. "For good reason."

"For semi-good reason," Seth replied, but off of a look from Summer – who by now had released a few tears that were now running down her cheek – agreed with her, "Okay, yes, for good reason – I just didn't know where to take it. I thought you liked just being with me without the law interfering."

"I've never liked it," Summer sniffled. "All these people we barely knew in high school have been getting married – to people they've only been dating for a few years – while we're just hanging out in limbo. This is, like, the worst waiting game _ever_!"

"I-I…" Seth stuttered, "I didn't know, Summer."

More tears ran down her cheeks as she turned on her heel. "Yeah, well, guess we're breaking up now so it doesn't really matter what you did or didn't know about me."

Seth leaped over to her side, wrapping his arms around her, kissing her hair. "We're not breaking up now," Seth mumbled into her hair. "We're getting engaged."

Summer pulled away, tears still streaming down her face. "We're what?"

Seth smiled, brushing her tears away with his thumbs. "You want to get married, I want to get married, and I'm guessing there's a little girl upstairs sleeping right now who wouldn't mind us getting married. After all, she did love being Ryan's flower girl today and I'm sure she wouldn't mind being one again."

"Cohen…"

"Ahh," Seth kissed Summer's nose sweetly, referencing to her choice of names for him, "there's my girl."

"Seth -"

"No," Seth placed his hand over her mouth. "No more refusals. Two was already enough."

Summer swatted his hand away. "You're only doing this because you don't want me to be pissed at you anymore."

"I'm doing this because I _love_ you," Seth gathered her hands in his. "I love you and we're gonna get married!" Seth grabbed his phone, excited to call and tell someone – _anyone_ – the news.

"No, Seth!" Summer reached out and grabbed his phone away from his hands. "Stop it. We're not going to jump into things. We have a five-year old daughter. We have to think about how this affects her life."

"I was thinking it was going to have a positive effect on her life. I mean, her parents finally getting married… How would it not?"

"I don't know… I just… I don't know about all of this."

"Are you kidding me, Summer? You're rejecting me _again_ after you were just telling me how you've been waiting for me to propose?"

"You aren't doing this for the right reasons."

"Right reasons? Marrying my girlfriend of twelve years and the mother of my child? The woman I've loved since I was ten? What other 'right' reasons are there?" Seth shouted.

Suddenly Leilah's small voice came from the stairs. "Why are you yelling?" Leilah peeked through the railings. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, sweetie," Summer cooed, walking towards her daughter. "Your daddy and I were just talking."

Seth grunted. "Right. Talking."

"About what?" Leilah inquired.

"Marriage," Seth replied.

"Seth," Summer warned with a glare.

Leilah smiled, replying happily, "So you were talking about Uncle Ryan and Aunt Taylor?"

"No. We were talking about us. Your mother and I. Getting married."

"Seth!"

"I can be another flower girl?" Leilah's eyes lit up.

"It's up to your mother." Seth crossed his arms, staring at Summer.

Summer's mouth dropped. Was this really how her proposal was gonna go?

"Mommy?" Leilah questioned.

"Your daddy and I have to discuss other things that come along with marriage."

"Fucking Christ, Summer!" Seth barked, throwing his hands up in the air and walking out the door, slamming it behind him.

"Daddy's mad at you," Leilah whispered to Summer. "He used a bad word."

"I know," Summer sighed. "Can you stay in the living room while I go talk to daddy?" Leilah nodded her head as she bounded down the steps past Summer and onto the couch, reaching for the television remote.

"What channel is Disney?" Leilah asked Summer. Summer knew she shouldn't be letting her daughter watch TV this late at night, but she also wasn't in the mood to argue with her.

"Thirty-one," Summer replied as she walked out the door. She saw Seth lying down on the grass with his arms and legs spread wide. Summer walked up to him rubbing her hands up and down her arms for warmth in the cool air. "What are you doing?"

"Calming down so I won't yell at you."

"Well, that's good to know," Summer replied sarcastically.

"I thought it would be."

Summer sighed and then motioned to lie down next to him. Seth turned his head in question. "What are _you_ doing?"

"Lying down with you."

"You don't have to."

"Well, I want to."

They laid there silently for a few minutes, barely making a movement or sound except for their steady breathing. Seth finally broke the comfortable silence, speaking towards the sky. "Remember that time in college when you and I sat out in Brown's quad and just talked and laughed and just hung out for hours? Just us spending time together?"

Summer looked over to him with curiosity. "Yeah… what about it?"

"I miss it, that's all."

"You miss that night?"

Seth nodded his head. "That night, that time in our lives… It was great, you know? We were great. Just studying and taking tests – finding time on a random Tuesday night to go sit out on the quad and just talk with you about nothing and everything all at the same time."

"And make out – if my memory serves correctly," Summer knocked her shoulder lightly into his arm, smirking.

Seth returned the smile. "Yeah, a lot of that too. It was all simple back then. We may not have thought it was at the time but it really was, wasn't it?"

"It really was," Summer whispered, leaning her head back onto the ground in contemplation.

They both stayed silent for a few more moments, listening to the air lightly wisp around them before Seth spoke once again. "I do love you, you know."

"I know."

"And I do want to marry you."

Summer immediately felt where this was going. "But…?"

"But we fight. A lot."

"Yeah."

"I don't think that's good for Leilah."

"Neither do I," Summer replied, adding in quickly, "but I don't think having separated parents is good for her either."

"No. No, I don't either."

"So?"

"So." Seth said, letting out a deep breath. "Do you just want to get married or do you want to marry me?"

"Aren't they one in the same?"

"They should be but in this case I don't think they are."

"Oh."

"I think you just want to get married and I just seem like the obvious choice." Seth sat up. "But am I the choice that's gonna make you happy?"

Summer followed his move and sat up as well, staring at Seth. "What kind of question is that?"

"A simple one."

"I wouldn't have been with you for this long if I didn't love you."

"That's not what I'm questioning. I know you love me. I'm asking if I make you happy. Or, more to the point, will I make you happy far into the future? Because that's all I really want for you, Summer. I want you to be happy."

Summer looked in front of her, realizing what Seth was asking her. She had always thought that once Seth proposed to her again she'd regain her happiness and everything would fall into place. But minutes earlier, when he had done just that, she wasn't happy at all. So would she be happy with him in the future? Or would it just be all routine for the rest of her life?

"I don't know, Seth."

Summer saw Seth nod his head in understanding. He stood up, reaching his hand down to help her stand up as well. They stood staring at each other for a few moments before Seth leaned in, kissing her dry lips. It was nothing fancy and Summer could feel the sadness and sense of goodbye flooding from his mouth to hers.

Seth pulled away and began wiping away her tears that she wasn't aware of crying. Summer also saw the tears glistening in his eyes.

"I'm gonna go tomorrow."

"Go where?" Summer choked out.

"I think maybe to visit my parents."

"For how long?"

"Awhile. A few weeks probably."

"No," Summer cried. "Forget everything I said earlier. I want you to stay. I want to marry you."

"Hey, hey," Seth soothed. "I'm not saying this is the end for us. Nor am I saying it isn't, I guess… I just… we need some time apart. Clear our minds and figure out what we really want. Or actually, what _you_ really want."

"What about Leilah?"

"I'll tell her I'm going away for business. It won't be any different."

"It will be if you come back and she sees us not together anymore."

"Summer, don't jump to conclusions. I love you. And I just need you to be happy. No matter what the means."

"When did you become so…"

"Smart? Charming? Handsome?"

Summer laughed. "Conceited?" Summer looked up at him, gazing into his sadden eyes that mirrored her own. "When did you become so grown up? So…" Summer looked for the right word, "Wise?"

Seth shrugged his shoulders and then replied. "Guess that's what you and Leilah needed from me so that's what I decided I needed to be."

"I love you."

"I know." Seth kissed her lips again, and then grabbed her hand leading her inside.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own it because I am not Josh Schwartz.**

**A/N: I leave Monday. And this isn't the last part. But I'm really, **_**really**_**, gonna try writing the last part some time tomorrow and posting it before I leave. I honestly really want to try and do that for all of my readers because I feel I owe that to you all for being so awesome. But again – don't hate me if I don't. If it doesn't happen, I promise I'll find some other way to post the last part within the next month.**

**Anyway – read, enjoy!, and review please! (Not gonna lie – reviews would definitely encourage me to get it done before I leave!)**

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"Leilah!" Summer shouted from the kitchen, straining her voice as she kept her eyes glued to the coffee she was pouring into her mug. "Time to come down for breakfast!"

To say the very least, it had been hard for Summer since Seth had been gone. Even though it had only been about two weeks, she was starting to go stir crazy. Not only was raising a five-year old daughter by herself hard (especially without the aid of Ryan or Taylor who normally would help out when Seth was really away on business, but couldn't this time on account of them being on their honeymoon), but just being away from Seth was difficult. Regardless of all their fighting, he was still her best friend and had been for the past decade so their break where they weren't speaking to each other (except for the few short moments when he'd call to say goodnight to Leilah and she would answer) was horrible.

Summer soon discovered that she wasn't ready to let go of Seth and that she didn't want them to give up on each other. It was true that she hadn't really been happy with him lately but that didn't necessarily mean she never would be happy with him again. And just because they argued a lot didn't mean she didn't love him. Every inch of her mind, body, and soul loved him in his entirety. And the more she thought about it, the more she felt that the reason she argued with him so much was because she was getting frustrated with the lack of discussion concerning marriage – and additionally, the lack of any intense physical connection with him in way too long. Summer was just starting to realize that it wasn't Seth that was making her unhappy, it was Seth's seemingly absence of love towards her that was. But if he still loved her like he told her he did just a few weeks ago, why couldn't they work things out?

All in all, Summer just wanted her Cohen back. And two weeks was about up and her mind couldn't stop thinking about having him back in Newport again.

"Mommy!" Leilah raced down the stairs and into the kitchen, still in her button-up pony pajamas, grasping Summer's cell phone in her hands, "The phone rang when you were down here making breakfast and I answered and it was daddy!"

Summer didn't have time to react to Leilah's statement before she was being forced to take the phone from her daughter's hands, "He wants to talk to you. He says he gonna come home today!"

"Seth?" Summer questioned as Leilah jumped into her seat at the kitchen table to begin eating her cereal.

Seth groaned before speaking. "I said I _might _be coming back today. She doesn't really listen well."

Summer smiled after hearing his voice. "Yeah, it's something we need to work on." Summer paused, waiting to see if he'd reply and taking a few moments to walk out of earshot of Leilah. After a few moments, Seth hadn't said anything and she was out of the kitchen so she continued on, "So you're thinking about coming home today?"

"Maybe… is that okay?"

"Seth, it's your home too. Of course it's okay."

"Well, I know. I just wanted to ask… so you're good with it?"

"I really want you back here, Seth. And Leilah does too."

"Yeah?" Summer could hear the smile in his voice.

"Yeah," Summer replied happily, "I really miss you. This break was good and all because it made me realize certain things but it was bad too because you're eight hours away so I couldn't tell you all about them."

"You can tell me now if you want."

Summer knew Seth was anxious to know what was on her mind but she wanted to see him. She wanted to be able feel his skin, look into his eyes, let her heart melt at his smile. She wanted to fall in love with him all over again as she told him all her eager thoughts and she couldn't do that over the phone. She needed to wait. She had been waiting already so taking a few more hours couldn't hurt.

"No," Summer told him. "I need you here. When you're here we can talk."

"All right…" Seth spoke slowly, dragging the words out. "But can you tell me this? Good or bad?"

Summer grinned into the phone. "Good. So, _so_ good."

Seth didn't reply at first and Summer knew he was grinning as well. "Great. I'm going to the airport now."

"Good."

"Good. I'll talk to you later, Summer."

Summer was about to hang up before she had one last instinct to tell him one more thing. "Seth?"

"Yeah, Sum?" He sounded a little out of breath. Summer knew he was already racing around gathering his things.

"You're my best friend. My best, best, _best_ friend. I could never lose that, you know."

Seth seemingly caught his breath, replying back to her. "Is that still a good thing?"

Summer knew Seth was confused, but she just needed to say it. "Of course it is. I love you."

"I love you, too," Seth replied happily, "I'm gonna hang up now so I can race to the airport and catch the first plane back to Newport."

"Okay."

"Love you, best friend," Seth told her right before hanging up his phone and ending their call.

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"Seriously, what plane did he take? One with a layover in Japan?" Summer ranted into her cell phone to her best friend and coworker, Natalie.

Natalie laughed a little into the phone, trying to humor Summer. "No, probably just one with a layover in Seattle. Airlines always do weird things like that."

Summer had talked to Seth earlier that morning at breakfast and now – nearly 10 hours later – still hadn't heard from him. She knew, from previous experience, that the flight from Berkeley/Oakland to Orange County took only a few short hours and that planes flew between those two airports on a constant basis. So what was taking him so long to get home?

"Do you think I'm just really anxious and getting angry over nothing?" Summer sighed.

"I think you really miss Seth and I think you should be happy that you realized that and that you two can both go back to being that sickening cute couple we all know and love," Natalie told her best friend. "And other than that I don't think you should be anxious or angry over anything."

"Right. Gosh, Nat, you're right," Summer nodded her head, trying to convince herself. "Well, I have to go pick Leilah up from her dance lessons. I'll call you tomorrow?"

"Sure," Natalie told her. "Have fun tonight."

"Bye," Summer smiled into the phone, grabbing her keys and purse from the kitchen counter, shutting her phone, walking out of the door and ridding herself of her concerned thoughts.

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"Mommy!" Leilah ran up to her mother in her light pink outfit with her dark hair up in a tight bun.

Summer opened her arms, letting her little girl fall into her. "Hey, Lei. How was dance?"

"Awesome! We learned some point things. I had a hard time but my teacher helped me and told me I should practice when I get home," Leilah told her, then looked around briefly. "Where's daddy?"

"He's not home yet, sweetie," Summer replied.

Leilah's smile faded. "But he said he was coming home today. I miss him."

"Me too, but he should be here soon. Don't worry," Summer smiled, trying to comfort Leilah. "Hopefully, he'll be there when we get home. So go change because the faster we get going the faster we'll get to see daddy!" Summer pushed her daughter lightly back towards the dressing rooms.

Summer stood up to her height, smiling at the other parents surrounding her. A few were gathered to the left of her and she turned to say hello. As she did, she overheard them speaking of a plane crash and before she had any chance to ask them questions about it or include herself in the conversation, her phone began ringing. Thinking it was Seth, she grabbed for it immediately but took notice that it was instead Natalie.

Summer answered the phone apprehensively, turning away from the parents. "Hello?"

"Hey," Natalie replied, gingerly. "What are you doing?"

"I told you I picking Leilah up from dance," Summer told her, noting the tone of her friend's voice. "Why? What's up?"

"Have you heard from Seth yet?" Natalie inquired.

"Not since this morning, you know that." Summer laughed lightly into the phone. "We just talked about this, like, fifteen minutes ago. Wow, your memory is already starting to go, huh?"

Natalie didn't seem fazed by Summer's joke at all. "How about I come down there? To the dance studio?"

"What?" Summer asked incredulously. "What for?"

"I just think it would be a good idea if you didn't drive right now," Natalie spoke calmly to her. "I'm in my car right now and I'll be there in five minutes."

"What are you talking about?" Summer grew agitated. "What is going on, Natalie?"

Natalie sighed. "There was something on the news, Summer. I just saw it a few minutes ago."

"Yeah…" Summer trailed. "And?"

"There was a plane crash on the runway at the John Wayne Airport," Natalie tried to speak calmly, trying to keep her voice from cracking. "The plane was coming in from Oakland."

"What?" Summer asked quietly after a few moments. "Oh my God."

"I mean, there's no guarantee Seth was on that plane but I just thought that since you hadn't heard from him -"

Summer cut Natalie off. "Oh my God!"

"Summer? Hey, Summer, it's gonna be alright, okay? I'm almost there and I'll take you to the hotel where they're asking all family to come so they can find out more answers."

Summer didn't hear Natalie's last statement for she had already fainted in the hallway of the small dance studio.

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Summer woke up with a little girl sobbing on her right and a familiar face in a sea of unfamiliars to her left.

"Summer?" Natalie brushed her hair away from her face. "Are you okay? Do you need a drink or anything?"

Summer felt a piece of wet cloth on her forehead and then shook her head, glancing to her little girl crying on her right arm, sitting up. "Leilah, hey, it's okay."

Leilah looked up with tear-stained eyes and bright red cheeks. "Mommy, you weren't alive!"

"I was alive, honey," Summer soothed her daughter, "I just passed out. But nothing's wrong with me. I'm okay."

"Why did you pass out?" Leilah hiccupped her way through the sentence, trying to gain control of her crying.

Summer ran hand up and down Leilah's arm for comfort. "Sometimes it just happens, Lei. I think I'm just tired." Summer looked to Natalie, asking for help with her eyes.

"How about we go to my house for a little while, Leilah? I have tons of movies and ice cream!" Natalie told Leilah but Leilah just shook her head, refusing.

"No, I want to go home with mommy so we can see daddy."

Summer spoke up once again. "I need to go get your daddy. And once I get him I'll come pick you up at Natalie's. Okay?"

"No!" Leilah shouted. "I want to go with you and see daddy!"

"Your mommy needs to go get your daddy. It's a grown-ups only place," Natalie tried to help but Leilah still refused, this time returning to her crying.

In the midst of Leilah's temper-tantrum, Summer had managed to stand up and spoke to Natalie. "I hate doing this to you but can you please take her? I know she's in a bad state right now but I really need to get to this hotel. Which hotel is it?"

"Summer, I can take you and wait with you. We'll just drop Leilah off with Garrett and go to the hotel," Natalie tried to reason with Summer.

"No, my car's here and I'm gonna go and I'm gonna find out where he is."

Natalie followed Summer, who by now had already picked up a crying Leilah and was walking out the door with her. "Summer, you just fainted. You don't know where your boyfriend is – if he's all right. You need me there."

"Seth is okay. I know he is. He _has_ to be," Summer stopped and whimpered briefly, then quickly gaining composure, handed Leilah off to Natalie. "And I can do this on my own. I need you to be there for Leilah right now. Please, just tell me where the hotel is."

"I don't want you to get hurt too."

Summer flinched at her statement. She didn't want her to get hurt too. Plural. As in more than one person was hurt. As in Seth was hurt already. "I won't. Where's the hotel, Natalie?"

Natalie sighed, giving in. "The Four Seasons on Bridge Street."

"Thanks," Summer took a deep breath, leaning in closely to Leilah. "Leilah, Leilah, listen to me. Listen to mommy." Leilah stopped her crying only ever so slightly to listen to her mother. "I'll be back soon. Please be good for Natalie." Leilah's cries only seemed to intensify at this as she grabbed for her mother.

Summer walked away, out of her daughter's grasp, toward her car. "I'm sorry, Natalie."

"Don't be," Natalie tried to shift Leilah in her arms. "Just go get Seth."

And with that, Summer got into her dark blue Hybrid and drove off towards the Four Seasons in an unfathomable daze.

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The hotel was crowded with cars of all types and news trucks. Summer could barely find a parking spot within a mile radius. She walked hesitantly into the loud hotel lobby looking for someone to question but couldn't help but notice all of the sobbing bodies flooding the area. She yelled at herself silently to stay on task, searching once again for someone with answers.

"Hi," Summer reached a tall, policeman with a clipboard. "Hi, I'm trying to find out if someone was on the plane."

"Are you looking for a family member?" The man asked. Summer didn't hesitate nodding her head yes. The man nodded in response, pointing to another man across the lobby at a counter. "Over there – he has a list of who was on the plane."

"Thank you," Summer replied as she darted in the direction of the other man in uniform. "Hi," Summer reached him, "I was told to come to you to find out if someone was on the plane?"

"Yes," the man looked down to his papers with a pen in hand. "What's the name?"

"Seth Cohen? C-o-h-e-n," Summer spelled out for him.

The man searched through his papers, leaning down on the counter. He looked up to Summer's eyes after the third page, pointing his pen to the paper. "Cohen, Seth E. Is that him?"

Summer's eyes' watered; tears threatening to fall at the verbal confirmation that Seth was on a plane that crashed. "Seth Ezekiel. Yes, that's him."

The man smiled sadly, putting his hand on Summer's shoulder. "The people at the front desk will be able to give you more answers. I'm sorry you have to go through this."

At this, Summer fell into hysterical sobs, falling to the floor. Not too many others around her noticed, since they were already in their own fits of hysterics, but the man tried to help her up and calm her down. "Hey, hey – no deaths have been confirmed yet. Just stay calm for the time being – it's the best you could possibly do for yourself and others in a situation like this."

Summer tried to stop her sobs, but couldn't calm herself down enough to walk over to the front desk so the man helped carry her over. He spoke a few words to the people in charge at the front desk and then turned to Summer, gripping tightly onto her shoulders. "Hey, miss, these people just need to see some identification. Something to prove you're related Mr. Cohen."

"He's my boyfriend," Summer whimpered.

"Boyfriend?" A woman from behind the desk eyed Summer. "I'm sorry but we can only give information out to family members."

Summer turned to look at her incredulously. "He's the father of my child! My Leilah!" Summer reached into her purse frantically, gripping her wallet and opening it to reveal a picture of her, Seth, and Leilah that was taken the previous November for Christmas cards. "Here's a picture of us! Him, me, and our five-year old daughter, Leilah Rose. We're not married by law but I've been in love with him since I was sixteen. He's everything to me. _Please_ help me. I need to know _something_."

The woman tried to continue abiding by the rules but the man who had helped Summer over to the front desk spoke up. "Leslie, this isn't the time to stick strictly to the rule book. Sometimes you just have use your own judgment."

The woman sighed, agreeing. "What's the name?"

"Seth Ezekiel Cohen. C-o-h-e-n," Summer repeated for the second time that day, smiling gratefully at the man.

The woman typed on her laptop, searching the names. "Seat 39B. That's in the far back of the plane."

"So?" Summer sniffled, trying to compose herself.

"So," the woman continued, "we've only been told that there were deaths in the seats that were located near the front of the plane. That's not saying that everyone else seating elsewhere is fine, or that everyone in the front of the plane was killed, I'm just telling you all the information we have right now."

"So he could be all right?" Summer tried to smile. "He could still be alive?"

"Yes, he most definitely could still be alive," the woman provided, "but that doesn't mean he still isn't hurt. We won't know more information for another hour or so."

"Yes, of course," Summer smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

"If you want to just have a seat in the banquet hall, we'll notify you of any new information," the woman told Summer, handing her a slip of paper. "Show this to the doorman when you enter the hall."

Summer took the slip appreciatively, thanked the man who had helped her over to the front desk, and walked toward the banquet hall, wishing desperately for good news within the next few hours.

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**A/N: I've never been a situation like this before so excuse me if this isn't exactly how things would pan out in real life.**

**And I don't think this was my finest bit of writing but with a topic like this and a stressful life I'm in right now, that's a bit excusable, right?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own "The OC."**

**A/N: I apologize for posting this **_**ridiculously**_** later than I originally said I would. Like I said when I posted the last chapter, my life was about to enter a complete whirlwind and as much as I wanted to get this chapter up to you all, I knew there was a strong chance that that wasn't going to be possible and – guess what? – it wasn't. But I was able to find time to write (because what else are you supposed to do when you're stuck on a ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean for 9 days??) and here it is.**

**Also, as a sort of 'thank you' for everyone's patience with this, I have written two other one-shots that I'll be posting within the next couple of weeks/month. So at least that's good news, right?**

**Anyway, here's the last chapter of this mini-story. Read, **_**enjoy**_**!, and review please. :)**

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If Summer thought waiting for Seth to propose to her was the worst waiting game ever, she was clearly completely and utterly wrong. Waiting to find out news about Seth's plane crash – or to just hear from Seth in general – was far, far worse than anything else she could have imagined.

Her phone had been ringing off the hook, but after taking the first two calls from Kirsten and Sandy and then Natalie, she continually pressed the ignore button on her phone. Many of the following calls were from people who were at the dance studio when Summer passed out earlier, and even a few calls were from other concerned friends who knew Seth had been in Berkeley for the past few weeks but wasn't sure of his return. Summer just didn't want to talk to anyone anymore. Not unless they were Seth.

After a few hours in, and only a handful of announcements stating the seven deaths they had confirmed, Summer fell into a daze. Even when Sandy had called her once again, she barely looked down before deciding she didn't want to talk and pressing ignore. She cried in random bursts and then five minutes later she was still again – like an overflow of emotions came rushing to her and then dried up as fast as they came.

It was nearly ten at night and she had been there for four hours without any food or water in her system. And while Summer felt her stomach gurgle for nutrients she couldn't fathom the idea of getting up from her seat and walking over to the buffet tables set up for the worried families. She felt that if she were to get up, her legs would give way and let her fall on to the ground, never allowing her to get back up. So she sat there silently, patiently, waiting for any sign of Seth.

There were numerous times she thought she had seen him walk through the doors – especially in the last hour. Slowly survivors began entering the banquet hall, searching for their loved ones. But every time she thought she had seen him, and was ready to get up and start running towards him, another person in the hall would race towards the man and she would realize that it wasn't Seth. That it wasn't the one person she needed to see more than anything or anyone else in the entire world.

By midnight, Summer's eyes were growing tired of watching the same large, wooden doors and her ears were strained from listening to all of the incoming announcements. The hotel had offered remaining victims' families a free hotel room but many declined, still eager to hear word on their loved one. Summer had thought seriously about taking up the hotel's offer – there was nothing she could do other than wait and she really did need sleep – but in the end her heart won out, still yearning to just catch a glimpse of Seth walking through the doors.

Summer watched yet another couple embrace as a woman walked through the hall towards her husband. They grasped each other so tightly and the woman's husband couldn't stop kissing her in happiness and joy that she was still alive. Summer's eyes stayed glued to this couple, imagining for a moment it was her and Seth, when suddenly she saw him.

At first she didn't think it was him – it didn't look like him at all from all the images she had been playing out in her mind. His face wore an unwavering look of determination and stubble was apparent, along with a few scrapes and dirt across his forehead and cheeks. His left wrist was bandaged up in white and his shirt was torn in random places. His pants were covered in dirt and, what looked like, soot, all the way down to his feet. He looked like someone else. Summer even thought for a moment that it wasn't him, but then she realized she could never mistake the real Seth for someone else. So she jolted up and as soon as she did, Seth's eyes made contact with hers and his firm look disappeared into a wide smile.

Summer rushed over to him, her legs moving faster than she could ever remember them moving. Seth moved swiftly as well, lifting his arms up, ready to grab her in a hug. Once she reached him, she did just that – and more. She jumped up into his arms, forgetting that his wrist was wrapped up and that he had scrapes and bruises all over him. He grabbed onto her tightly, nuzzling his face into her neck, breathing in her scent. Summer did the same thing to him – but all she could smell was smoke.

"I love you, Summer," Seth whispered into her hair. "More than you could ever know."

"I've never been more scared in my entire life," Summer pulled away so she could see his face. "Never, Seth."

"Me neither," Seth replied quietly, letting Summer back down. "But I'm okay. Just a few scrapes and bruises and a sprained wrist," Seth lifted his left hand to show her.

"Oh my God," Summer grabbed his hand roughly to examine it but then off of his wince, she released her grip. "Sorry."

Seth shrugged it off. "It doesn't hurt that bad."

"Seth," Summer looked him square in the eye, "you were in a _plane crash_. Do you realize how serious that is? How lucky you are right now? How lucky I am that you're okay?"

He nodded, bringing his hands up to hold her face. "I know, Summer. I can't be thankful enough that you're here with me right now."

Summer smiled humbly. "There's no where else I'd be, Cohen."

Seth bent down to Summer's height, capturing her lips with his. Summer smiled into the kiss – thanking all Above Beings silently for allowing Seth to still be with her – as she continued massaging her lips against his. But questions about the crash swam through her mind at a feverish pace and she pulled away suddenly, as Seth frowned down at her in question.

"What?" Seth asked.

"What happened?" Summer started and before Seth could reply, she was already firing out more questions. "And how did you get that sprain? Do you need to go to the doctor? And why did it take so long for you to get here? Why didn't you at least call? I was worried sick, Seth!" Summer punched him in the stomach.

"Ow woman!" Seth gripped his stomach. "I was just in a plane crash! Think you can lay off the abuse for at least a day?"

Summer enveloped him in a hug. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she pulled away, rubbing her forehead. "I'm just so all over the place right now."

"I know," Seth let his good arm drape around Summer's body. "Let's go sit down and talk." Seth guided her into the hall, but then upon noticing the anxiety and chaotic scene, he stopped. "Maybe we should go outside."

"Yeah," Summer replied, "I don't really want to be in here anymore."

Seth and Summer made their way out of the hotel and walked to the well-lit park next door. They sat silently on a bench, before Seth opened his mouth to speak. "That was one of the scariest things in my life, Summer – that plane crash."

Summer laughed ironically. "_One of_? I would think that would be the scariest thing that has ever happened in your life."

Seth shook his head defiantly. "No. The scariest thing was when it happened – or when we all knew what was happening – and all the people were screaming and crying, I thought of you and Leilah. And how I might never get to see you two again. _That_ was the scariest thing in my life."

"Seth…" Summer leaned into him.

"I mean it," Seth interrupted her. "I don't want to ever think about not being in yours and Leilah's lives. And when the plane dove down that last minute before landing – it's all I could seeing flashing through my mind. You and Leilah. Without me." Seth reached out and wiped the tears that were falling from Summer's eyes. "And I told myself, that if I made it out of that, I would tell you that. And that I wouldn't let you go. Because I know that no matter how hard our relationship has been lately, we can get through it. We always do. I love you, Summer. So please don't try to break up with me because I'm gonna have to fight you on it."

Summer pulled away from Seth, smiling widely. "You think I'd break up with you? After you were just in a plane crash – after you just told me all of that?" Summer laughed. "You're crazy, Seth. I love you."

"Yeah?" Seth's eyes brightened. "You're not just saying that because of the crash?"

Summer shook her head. "I'm saying that because it's exactly what I wanted to tell you earlier today when you called. But I wanted you here with me when I told you it – so, Seth – I love you. I think I've only been unhappy lately because everything I had thought I wanted out of my life wasn't going according to plan – mainly marriage. But I could never _not_ be with you, Seth. You're my best friend and I love you so much and each time I ever try to think about you not being in my life anymore it scares me to death. Today only proved that."

"Good," Seth smiled. "I'm glad to hear it. I mean, not the scaring you to death part, but everything else I'm pretty satisfied with."

"I'm glad," Summer smiled back, letting silence ensue for a few moments as they leaned against one another. But then the questions crept back into her mind and, like last time, she couldn't ignore them. "So what _happened_, Seth?"

"Well," Seth began, taking a deep breath. "The ride back was pretty smooth. A little turbulence but nothing out of the ordinary. And then as we started descending, there was this thump. At first no one thought anything of it, but then a woman a few rows in front of me starting shouting saying that we were going down too fast. So I tried to look out the window over the person sitting next to me and I saw that we were diving down towards the runway. We could all see it but we knew immediately we weren't supposed to be landing this fast. So people started screaming and crying and then – then, we just… we crashed. Head first into the middle of the runway."

"Oh my God…" Summer muttered.

Seth continued on. "I can't really remember what happened right after that. I think I might have blacked out for a few minutes. I just remember someone tugging at my arm for help. It was someone across the aisle who was stuck under bags that had fell out from the overhead. And as I helped him, I noticed all the people trying to get out and in between them all, I saw flames at the front of the plane. So I rushed even faster to get the man out – and someone else helped – and then I just got myself out of there. As soon as I got out, there were ambulances and firefighters and policemen everywhere. Everyone bombarded me as if I were the only person that was on the plane – asking if I was all right, where I hurt, and from my perspective, what had happened. I kept saying I was okay, that I just needed to call you, but I must have lost my phone during all of that and they wouldn't allow me to use their phones until I answered questions and got myself checked out by a doctor. It took hours, Summer. I promise I would have called earlier if I could have."

"I know you would have," Summer tried to smile for him, but his story was just sending her right back into another daze.

"And I did finally get a chance to call you – around 9:30 – but you didn't answer. And I tried a couple of times after that but finally I just gave up and tried to get out of there as fast as I could. Obviously, two and a half hours isn't fast – but trying to figure out where all the family members were located and with all the extensive questioning as I was leaving from policemen and reports, I just… well, I had a hell of a time getting to the hotel."

Summer had snapped out of her daze at Seth's mention of calling her. "Oh my God… I ignored all of my calls! I mean, after the first few I just couldn't handle it and I put my phone away. Jesus! How stupid was that?! Of course you would have tried to call me!"

"Summer, Summer," Seth tried to calm her down. "I'm here now. And so are you. And we're both fine. We need to focus on that." Seth stared at her intently. "We need to focus on the future now. Not what happened today or what's been happening between us for the past few months. We just need to fix everything. We need to get on the same team again."

Summer sat back on the bench as Seth spoke to her, trying to ease her mind. And suddenly, like a flash, she realized the horrible way this day could have ended. Seth could have been pronounced dead. She would have had to tell her five-year old daughter that she was never going to see her daddy again. She would have had to somehow plan a funeral, all while taking in the fact that she was never going to see the man she loved so desperately for the last twelve years of her life ever again. That she was going to have to raise their daughter alone – watch her grow, date, excel in school, graduate, go to college, marry, and move out, leaving Summer alone until she died herself. And above all that, she would have had to live with the fact that she never got to say goodbye to him, or let him know that she loved him with her entire being and would never love another man half as much as she loved him.

"Hey, Summer?" Seth reached a hand out to Summer's shoulders. "It's all okay, all right? We're gonna be okay."

Summer turned her head, locking eyes with him and immediately falling into hysterical sobs. Seth enveloped her in a tight hug, rocking her back and forth on the bench, whispering comforting words into her ear as he rubbed her back. Summer spent a few minutes soaking Seth's already stained and smoke-filled shirt before pulling away, wiping her face steadfastly. "Let's go get married."

This time it was Seth's turn to sit back on the bench. "Let's what?"

"Get married," Summer stood up abruptly. "Let's go get married. Right now."

"Right now?" Seth pointed to the ground. "Like, this instant?"

"Yes," Summer smiled through her remaining tears. "Let's go drive to Vegas and get married."

"You're serious?" Seth stood up standing inches away from her. "You want us to drive to Vegas right now – at 1am – and get married?" Summer nodded her head. "But what about a wedding? And my parents? Ryan and Taylor? _Leilah_??"

Summer waved her hands animatedly to the side. "Forget all of that. Let's make this just about us."

"I can't believe you're serious about this," Seth stated, gripping Summer's arm lightly, trying to lead her away. "Maybe we can sleep on it tonight and if it's still what you want in the morning we can do it."

"No!" Summer bellowed, ripping her arm out of Seth's grasp. "No more waiting! We can't just assume tomorrow's gonna come because everything can change in an instant. It almost did today. I almost lost you. And… and… oh my _God_, I don't know what I would have done if that had happened. But I do know that this crash happened for a reason, Seth. It happened to show us that we shouldn't take each other – and our time together – for granted anymore. I just want to be married to you – for you to be my husband. So _please_, let's forget everything that says we shouldn't go elope and just do it anyway."

Seth stares at Summer silently for a moment, digesting what she had to say. "Okay."

"Yeah?" Summer grins.

"Yeah," Seth responds, taking Summer's hand in his. "Let's go get married."

Summer squeezed his hand lightly, grinning, and walking out of the park, leading him towards her car. "Yeah… let's go get married."

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During the long trek to Las Vegas, Seth used Summer's phone to call his parents and Summer's friend, Natalie, to talk to Leilah to let them all know he was all right as Summer drove. His parents had been worried sick – much like Summer after learning their son was in a plane crash – but were especially glad to hear from him. Leilah, however, had been fast asleep when Seth called at nearly two in the morning and Natalie had spoken to Seth, telling him how thankful she was that he was okay. She had then asked him when he and Summer wanted her to drop Leilah off at their house but Seth informed her as nicely as possible that he and Summer were hoping to take a mini-vacation and wanted to know if she and Garrett could watch Leilah for the next day or two. Natalie had immediately obliged, saying she knew they needed this time together. Seth thanked her profusely – as did Summer as she shouted into the phone while keeping her eyes on the road – and told her that he would call again later in the morning to talk to Leilah.

By the time they arrived in Las Vegas, almost all decent and non-Elvis/priest impersonators were closed until 9am. So Seth and Summer decided to get a hotel room to shower and take a nap before their big elopement.

When they woke up at three in the afternoon – clearly tired from the last day's events – they immediately looked up the classiest and well-to-do chapel they could find and drove to it. They got an immediate service and within only a half hour, they were married.

Seth Cohen and Summer Roberts – finally after twelve years of dating – were married.

Seth joked that they should have done this earlier if it was that easy and Summer laughed saying that it happened much quicker than she had ever imagined it happening. Regardless, they were amazed that it was real. Summer kept looking down to her platinum ring band for confirmation and smiling over to Seth as she took it in, each and every time.

By dinnertime, they had made it back to their hotel honeymoon suite at Caesar's Palace and were now just ordering room service food that was outrageously priced but, according to Seth, it didn't matter because they saved thousands of dollars by not having a wedding so splurging on food and the hotel honeymoon really didn't matter.

"You know," Seth grinned, plopping down onto the bed next to Summer after ordering all of their room service food, "we have a lot to do this next week."

"What do you mean?" Summer questioned him as they both got under the covers once again.

"Well, there's changing your name for starters. You're a Cohen now. Better get used to it," Seth tilted to his side, letting his lips graze Summer's quickly and ardently. "And there's changing your name and our relationship status on all of our bank accounts, insurances, tax papers and everything of that sort."

"Sounds like fun," Summer muttered sarcastically, slipping further into the bed, laying her head on Seth's chest.

Seth bowed down, beaming above her. "And we'll most definitely have to find some time to go ring shopping."

At this Summer perked up, joyously wrapping her arms around Seth's neck, pulling him down closer to her. "Ohhh… I especially like that part of the to-do list," Summer kissed him. "Am I gonna choose my own or are you gonna do it?"

"Whatever you want."

"I want you to choose."

Seth's smile faltered for a moment. "You know, I didn't actually think you would allow me to choose your engagement ring – well, it's not really an engagement ring because we didn't have an engagement so it's more like a double wedding ring – but still, I didn't think you'd let me choose."

"If we hadn't gotten married today, you would probably be thinking about proposing to me soon, right?" Summer asked Seth, already knowing the answer.

"Of course – in fact, the past two weeks I've been thinking about it a lot."

Summer smiled, continuing on. "Yeah, so you would have chosen the engagement ring then and I know I would have loved it so I figure we should probably try to keep something traditional in this whole wedding/marriage thing we have going on. Plus, I love all the jewelry you get me. I never have any complaints."

Seth pretended to think about it for a moment. "This is true. I do believe I'm always highly rewarded for my continued efforts at finding the perfect jewelry for you."

"You certainly are," Summer kissed him again, smirking. "This time will be no different."

"Great," Seth laughed. "I'll be going out to get that ring tomorrow."

"Can't wait," Summer muttered as their lips collided once again. Just as they were letting things get heated, there was a knock on the door, indicating that their food was there. Seth groaned, getting out of bed and retrieving the food, brining it next to their bed. He then sat right next to Summer, resuming their make-out right where it left off.

"Seth," Summer mumbled, trying to fend of his lips, "Seth, the food's here."

"I know," Seth replied, still kissing her face, "I was the one who got it."

Summer laughed, pushing him off of her. "Come on, it's all so expensive. We can't just waste it." Summer reached over to the food and began grabbing for it as Seth watched her from behind.

Suddenly, without warning, Seth startled Summer. "I want another baby."

Summer dropped her piece of steak onto the ground, ignoring it as she turned back to Seth. "You want another baby?"

Seth shook his head vigilantly. "Yes. I want us to have another baby."

Summer was shocked but she couldn't help the grin from forming on her face. Everything she had been worrying about for the past few months – the fear that Seth was no longer in love with her and didn't want to marry her – was quickly fading into forgotten memories. And Summer had wanted to try for another baby since Leilah was two years old but she was too afraid to mention it to Seth, especially since they had been avoiding the topic of marriage for the past couple of years. "Oh my God," Summer cried, throwing her arms around Seth's neck. "I love you _so_ much."

"Does that mean you want another baby too?" Seth pulled away slightly to catch a glimpse of Summer's face.

Summer merely nodded, trying to keep her smile from breaking out into an all-consuming grin.

"Well, then," Seth beamed back, keeping his arms tightly locked around Summer's body, "mind if we start trying now?"

"Now?" Summer managed to squeak out.

"Why not?" Seth responded.

Summer pushed him down on the bed, kissing him passionately, letting her hands find their familiar way to his curls. As things heated up, Seth turned their bodies so Summer was underneath him and their clothes quickly became discarded while the food was forgotten about. Seth then mumbled into Summer's skin, "Thank you," before beginning to move inside of her.

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After, Summer laid her head on Seth's chest and she questioned him on his statement from earlier. "Why did you thank me earlier?"

Seth glanced down at her, stroking her hair with his good hand lovingly. "For the best day ever – a wife _and_ a baby."

Summer smiled up at him. "There's no guarantee that I'm pregnant, Cohen."

"Ohhh, I did some of my best work there, Summer," Seth told her confidently. "I'm pretty positive you're pregnant."

"Oh, did you?" Summer laughed, sitting up.

"That I did." Seth nodded his head vigorously.

"Well," Summer started, "if that's the case – and I am pregnant – we better order more food because I'm eating for two now and I'm not having cold steak."

Seth shot straight up in bed. "Yeah, I'll get the phone now. Don't want you to start having hormonal rage blackouts."

Summer smiled to herself as she listened to Seth order more food for her, thinking about how lucky she was to have him in her life. She was beyond grateful for Seth, and for Leilah, and for – as Seth presumed – their new baby beginning to grow in Summer's womb. And really? She couldn't ask for anything more than that.

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**A/N: Look out for a SS one-shot in a week or so!!!**


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